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# Books
Half of Irish parents feel guilty for skipping bedtime stories
One in five Irish parents never read to their children.
A SURVEY COMMISSIONED by Easons has revealed that half of parents of children under eight in Ireland feel guilty for not having time to read with their children.
One in five parents never read to their children according to research carried out by Amárach Research in advance of the launch of Easons’ ‘Get into Reading’ campaign.
One third of parents say time pressure is the main reason they don’t sit down with a book with their child more often, while almost half say they pass the responsibility onto their partners.
Child psychotherapist Dr. John Sharry said that the findings of the research highlight the importance of building a bedtime story into the daily routine.
Eighty-four per cent of Irish people say they were encouraged to read by their parents, while almost 70 per cent were read to as a child.
A quarter of Irish people say they read five or more hours a week, with those who were read to as a child 30 per cent more likely to commit to this amount of time with the books.
Easons are planning to hold weekly in-store reading events for children and parents throughout the year every Saturday.
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